Dress form



Patented Dec. 12 1950 DRESS FORM Ruth W. Akers, Freeport, Tern, now by decree of marriage Ruth Akers Nielsen Application October 31, 1946, Serial No. 706,820

This invention relates to a dress form.

This invention has particular relation to a compressible dress form whose structure is non-rigid.

An object of the invention is to provide a form of the character described which exactly simulates the body of the individual wearer of the clothing to be fitted on the form.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a form of the character described which will be an exact replica of the individuals body and which will be composed of resilient material, such as sponge rubber, or the like.

The type of dress form herein described is designed to be used by an individual for sewing, mending, fitting, adjusting and designing clothing for personal use; however, it may be used generally by clothing manufacturers in the fitting, modelling and designing of garments.

Heretofore dress forms have been constructed with such rigid or semi-rigid structure that it has been diflicult, if not impossible, to pull a garment downwardly over them. The present in-- vention is of such construction that it may be contorted and maneuvered in a manner similar to the movements of the human body thus allowing the garment to be readily adjusted to the form without damage to the garment.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification which is illustrated by the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a front, perspective view of the form; and

Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional view.

In the drawing only the neck portion I, the breast portion 2 and the trunk portion 3 of the body are reproduced. The form may be composed, throughout, of a mat of suitable compressible material, such as sponge rubber or similar material. It may be made to simulate the body of a specific individual.

In making the form a rigid mold is made of the persons body and is then removed and with a suitable core therein, spaced to give the desired thickness, the material of which the form is to be composed may be poured into the form; or without the core the rubber or other resilient material, in plastic state, may be worked within the mold and made to conform to the contour of the mold and to any selected thickness. The mold may then be removed and the form thus produced will simulate the body from which the mold was made. The walls of the form should be of sufficient thickness so that they will rebound upon removal of pressure to which the form may be subjected.

3 Claims. (C1. 223--68i The form, therefore, is completely hollow haw ing no inner support. but is self-supporting and will stand upright without assistance.

This type of dress form is completely compressible, that is the sides can be moved toward each other until they come into contact since there is no inside supporting structure. This permits a garment to be fitted onto the form readily and Without damage, or strain, to the seams or material and after being fitted the form will rebound to original shape which is the shape of the body of the wearer of the garment being fitted.

In fitting a nearly finished or finished garment being made, or repaired, to the form the form may be maneuvered in a manner similar to the body movements while dressing so that the garment may be placed on the form with ease and rapidity for final adjustment without bursting the seams or damaging fragile materials. To enable fittings of this type to be made, at least the thick portion of the form corresponding to the shoulders and chest of the human body, and preferably the whole form, has its wall. composed solely of a pliable mat of distortable material. The mat of material is porous so as to permit jab pinning. The mat also is resilient whereby, when it is distorted to facilitate fitting of a garment thereon, it will rebound to its original shape upon release of the distorting pressure. This cannot be done in the case of a form which is rigid or semi-rigid.

In adjusting a material or a pattern to a rigid form the material or paper has a tendency to slip or slide out of position since it does not properly adhere to the form but with a form of the type herein described slight pressure on the rubber by the pattern or garment material will eliminate slippage. This eliminates errors and makes readjustments unnecessary. With a dress form of the type herein described the pattern or garment material may be easily pinned in place wherever desired; while in the case of the rigid type of form the garment material or pattern can be pinned only at places specially prepared for that purpose.

The form herein described is composed of material which closely approximates the human flesh insofar as compressibility and rebound are concerned and therefore constitutes a perfect foil for the individual body for use in dress making, fitting and designing.

The drawings and description are illustrative merely while the broad principle of the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

What 1 claim is:

1. A hollow dress form shaped externally to closely simulate the external contour of the trunk portion of the human body, said dress form comprising a wall composed solely of a pliable mat of distortable material, the mat of material being porous and inherently resilient so that the wall of the form 'wilL' 'when distorted by application of pressure, rebound to its original shape upon release of such distorting pressure; the wall being sufliciently thick that the material itself is self sustaining. r 1

the mat 2. The dress form of claim 1 wherein of material is composed of sponge rubber.

3. A dress form shaped externally to closely simulate the'external contour of the torso por 7 the form will, when distorted by application of pressure, rebound to its original shape upon release of such distorting pressure; the wall being sufiiciently thick that the material itself is self sustaining. Y

RUTH W. AKERS.

7 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENT Number Name Date 754,148 Kuhlemann Mar. 8, 1904 1,147,427 Penny July 20, 1915 1,225,207 7 Bailey May 8, 1917 1,436,500 Herbert Nov. 21, 1922 1,447,372 Bailey Mar. 6, 1923 2,056,740 Rosenfeld Oct. 6, 1936 2,098,925 Schaefier Nov. 9, 1937 2,156,573 Schaeffer May 2, 1939 2,445,458 Simonson July 20, 1948 

